amorphis

Amorphis are a great Finnish band, well known for their ability to succesfully combine several different styles in their music. Strongly influenced by the traditions of their country, they've come up with a perfect blend of death metal, finnish folk music and, more recently, 70's rock.

But it hasn't been like this since the beginning. Amorphis' music has evolved quite much from what it used to be in their debut album, The Karelian Isthmus (that has a more 'classic' kind of death metal), and the later released Privilege of Evil EP (with a more brutal sound), that contains songs they had previously created. Even though the band showed great potential, it wasn't until the release of their epic masterpiece Tales from the Thousand Lakes when they demonstrated what they were really capable of.

'Tales...' has a perfect atmosphere, and is filled with superior guitar riffs (courtesy of Mr. Esa Holopainen), awesome keyboard sounds, great death grunts and some pretty decent clean vocals. One other thing I also love about this album is its lyrics; instead of just writing about anything related to death, mutilation and violence that comes to mind, like a few bands out there, Amorphis have based their lyrics in the Finnish national pole book Kalevala, that narrates the adventures of the ancient Finnish heroes. You can find all the information about it here.

Later, Amorphis released another wonderful album, named Elegy (no, I am not forgetting about the 'black winter day' single...), where the band continues evolving, this time by integrating 70's rock influence in their music. The use of clean vocals is more frequent, and it makes a nice contrast with Tommi Koivusaari's deep growl. This new facet of the band has caused several persons to believe they've 'sold out' because they're music is more 'soft' and commercial.

The same people that made those comments must now be really pissed after the release of the My Kantele single, where the band's 70's influences seem to be increasing. Personally, I don't mind that at all, that's one of the aspects that makes their sound so unique and different from a lot of other bands out there.


Don't forget to visit:
  • The Official Amorphis Homepage: mantained by the staff of the band; it has great pictures, the latest news and info about the band, as well as video and audio samples.


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